


Silence Speaks

by Rina (rinadoll)



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery
Genre: Gen, Imagination gone wrong, Trick or Treat: Challenge Yourself, Trick or Treat: Trick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-09 21:03:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16457183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinadoll/pseuds/Rina
Summary: A familiar face returns.





	Silence Speaks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Missy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missy/gifts).



Diana noticed first, but Marilla wasn’t far behind. 

“The child is quiet,” she marveled to herself, standing at the stove. For the first time in all the months she’d lived at Green Gables, Anne was sitting at the table, quietly eating breakfast. She wasn’t talking to Marilla, or the plants, or even to herself. Just...eating. It was a relief. 

But Anne stayed quiet, and the relief turned to worry. 

Anne didn’t play as much with the little girls at school any longer. Their games and chatter didn’t hold the same allure for her. She still told Diana stories, but they were all about a little girl named Katie, and they weren’t the epic tragic romances Anne had loved so much. 

Some of them scared Diana, and she couldn’t explain why. There weren’t any ghosts or murderers, but there was something in Anne’s trembling voice that sent chills down Diana’s spine. She tried to suggest romantic twists, but Anne just shook her head, disappointed. 

Marilla couldn’t understand it. The child was behaving perfectly. She did her chores, she did her schoolwork, her tongue was firmly in her mouth, and by all rights, Marilla should have no complaints. But she snapped in response to Matthew’s fumbled questions, because his fears were too close to hers. But how do you miss the person who is still living in your home?

Anne didn’t notice any of this. One morning she’d been dusting Marilla’s curio cabinet and come across a familiar sight. “Why, Katie Maurice,” she exclaimed, surprised. “You don’t belong here! But I am ever so glad to see you.” She caught her dear reflected friend up on her life since leaving the Thomas family. 

But unlike last time, Katie Maurice refused to stay put in glass or water. She was in the Haunted Wood. She was in the blackboard of the schoolroom. She was in the barn. She was in the moon, the sun, the sky. 

Before long, Katie Maurice was Anne’s constant companion. She’d hoped Diana would join them, create a true triumvirate, but Diana didn’t see the magic of Katie Maurice. Sorrowfully, she let Diana slip away.

Katie had such fun ideas, anyway, that they didn’t need anyone else. They told each other stories of far off places, dreamed of living together forever.

One afternoon, Anne finished her chores early, and they walked to the shore. It was a grey day, misty and damp, but so alive. Anne shivered with the deliciousness of it.

“We’ve spent so much time in your homes,” Katie Maurice said, “and I’d like to take you home with me now. Will you come?”

“Yes,” said Anne, taking her hand, and they walked towards the water.

The Cuthberts found her at the beach, arms clasped around her knees. She was breathing in time with the motion of the sea, gazing out over it but seeing nothing. They found her, but she never came home again.

**Author's Note:**

> When I saw your prompt for Anne getting lost in her fantasy world, I just had this image of one of her old friends making a less than friendly return. Happy Halloween!


End file.
